The coronavirus crisis—crisis communication, meaning-making, and reputation management

Abstract

This article addresses the Norwegian government’s meaning-making, crises communication and reputation management during the Corona pandemic crisis. It argues that reputation management can be seen as a combination of governance capacity and legitimacy reflected in a well performing crisis communication and meaning-making. Under the slogan “working together” the government emphasized the need for a supportive and cohesive culture in order to to balance efforts at increasing governance capacity as well as governance legitimacy, through shaping a common understanding and broad consensus on what the crisis was about and what needed to be done to deal with it. A main lesson learned from the Norwegian case is that the effectiveness of the government in controlling the pandemic was enhanced by successful meaning-making and communication with the public, and to the high level of citizens’ trust in government.

Notes

1 In this article we use the term CoV throughout.

2 See for example interview with professor Eiliv Lund, Dag og Tid, April 3, 2020. https://www.dagogtid.no/

3 Two methodological factors must be mentioned. First, different countries test with different intensity and goal groups, and the criteria for counting deaths are different, making comparisons challenging. Second, the different expert bodies, media and websites keeping statistics have somewhat different results for each country, partly because of the first factor, so there is not any world certified statistical account.

4 The media briefings started March 12, were given every weekday for the first eight weeks of the process, but later three days a week.

5 https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/pressekonferanse-om-nye-tiltak-for-a-bekjempe-korona-viruset/id2693286/

6 https://www.nrk.no/nordland/nordnorske-kommuner-setter-soringer-i-karantene-_-lege-vil-ha-innreiseforbud-til-nord-norge-1.14948373

7 Information given by Professor Elisabeth Ivarsflaten at Webinar, April 3, 2020. https://www.uib.no/aktuelt/135017/stolar-meir-på-erna-og-mindre-på-naboen

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tom Christensen

Tom Christensen is Professor Emeritus at Department of Political Science at University of Oslo, Norway . He is also Visiting Professor at Renmin University and at Tsinghua University, China. His main research interests related to central civil service and comparative public reform studies. He has published extensively in the major PA journals and coauthor several book. His last publication, with Per Lægreid and Kjell Arne Røvik is “Organization Theory and the Public Sector” (Routledge, 2020).

Per Lægreid

Per Lægreid is Professor Emeritus at Department of Administration and Organization Theory, University of Bergen, Norway. He has published extensively on public sector reform, public management policy, institutional change and crisis management from a comparative perspective. His latest books include Societal Security and Crisis Management. Governance Capacity and Legitimacy. (with L. H. Rykkja, eds). London: Palgrave Macmillan and Nordic Administrative Reforms. Lessons for Public Management (with C. Greve, and L.H. Rykkja, eds). London: Palgrave Macmillan.